Recommended Bids in TrafficStars: What They Are and How to Use Them Effectively

What are Recommended Bids?

When launching a new campaign, one of the biggest questions advertisers face is how to bid effectively in ad networks. Set your bid too high — and you’ll waste budget. Set it too low — and your campaign may never take off.

That’s where Recommended Bids come in. In this article, we’ll explain how recommended bids work, what affects recommended bids, and how you can use them to optimize bids for better performance on TrafficStars.

Recommended Bids in TrafficStars are automatically calculated bid suggestions designed to help advertisers achieve optimal placements on Prime Spots — premium inventory known for high visibility and strong conversion rates. These suggestions are based on real-time market data and performance history, helping you launch efficiently without overspending. In short, smart bidding in TrafficStars gives you a strong competitive start while maintaining cost control.

Tip: You’ll see the Recommended Bid per Spot option during campaign creation — it’s calculated from past results to help you compete effectively from the beginning.

How are Recommended Bids calculated?

Recommended Bids are calculated based on the average eCPM (effective Cost Per Mille) for each Prime Spot across all selected GEOs in your targeting.

For example, if you select three countries, the Recommended Bid for a Prime spot will be calculated based on the combined eCPM performance across those three countries.

Note: Recommended bids do not take into account additional targeting options (like OS, language, browser, etc.). If you use such filters, you’ll need to adjust the bid manually to remain competitive.

This ensures that your bid reflects the current traffic market — answering both how do recommended bids work and why recommended bids change over time.

How to use Recommended Bids?

This feature is available only during campaign creation. You’ll see the recommended bid next to the “Bid” field. Simply apply the suggestion or adjust it as needed.

Tip:These values help avoid setting your bid too high (wasting budget) or too low (not getting impressions).

FAQ

Why should I use Recommended Bids?

• Save time – No need to manually analyze the market and choose bid amounts; the system does it for you automatically.
  
• Stay competitive – Recommendations are based on real-time market data.
  
• Reduce risk – Helps avoid extreme bids that can hurt your test campaign.
  

How to adjust bids when using additional targeting?

Recommended bids are calculated without considering targeting by devices, browsers, languages, or other parameters. If additional filters are added:

• For narrower targeting (e.g., only iOS or only English-speaking users) – increase the bid, as the audience is smaller and competition may be higher.
  
• For broader targeting – you can start with the standard recommended bid, then adjust based on the results.
  

How to properly test an offer with Recommended Bids?

To get the most out of Recommended Bids during testing:

• Use them as your baseline — start your campaign using the suggested bids to align with current market conditions.
  
• Separate Prime and RON campaigns — since Recommended Bids are calculated individually for Prime and RON spots, we recommend launching two distinct campaigns:
• One that targets only Prime spots, using their specific Recommended Bids
•  Another that targets only RON spots (with Prime excluded), using the respective RON bids. Learn more about how to separate Prime and RON traffic in this FAQ
• Monitor key metrics — such as CTR, conversions, CPL, and other performance indicators.
• Optimize based on results — raise bids if you're not getting enough conversions, or lower them and improve creatives/landing pages if CPL is too high. Learn more about how to optimize campaigns using our Optimizer too
  
• Refine your targeting — after collecting initial data, segment your audience and adjust targeting to maximize performance. Learn more about using Multi Goals to segment and analyze performance.

 

Do Recommended Bids guarantee impressions?

No. While they help you stay competitive, ad delivery still depends on the auction system. Your bid must be high enough to win against others targeting the same traffic.

Availability and limitations

• Recommended bids are only visible during campaign creation and are not shown when editing existing campaigns.
  
• If you want to change the bid in an active campaign, you should rely on performance data and testing results.
  

Conclusion

Recommended bids in TrafficStars are a smart shortcut for advertisers who want to launch fast and efficiently - especially when testing new GEOs or offers.

To get the most value, use them as a starting point, but always analyze performance, adjust based on your targeting, and refine your strategy as you go.